People Centered Leadership
Post Graduate Course in Effective Leadership
Alberto Zucconi
World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS)
World University Consortium (WUC)
Person Centered Approach Institute (IACP)
azucconi@iacp.it
azucconi@worldacademy.org
Inter- University Centre (IUC), March 31-April 3, 2015 ,
Dubrovnik, Slovenia
World Academy of
Art and Science
World
University
Consortium
ISTITUTO DELL'APPROCCIO
CENTRATO SULLA PERSONA
WE live in a period of globalization and
of growing complexity.
In order to meet our present and future
challenges every community needs
effective ways to cope.
WE
need to facilitate the emerging of
effective leaders at every level of society
We need effective leaders at every level
We need leaders that are healthy, not
narcissistic or psychopathic ones
We need leaders that are people centered
and emphatic
We need leaders that are generous and
not selfish ones
We need leaders that empower their
people not those that enslave them
Independent,
resilient and
empowered people
are more creative
and capable of
effective crisis
management than
those who are just
passive followers
“How well do you listen? Listening
is a key leadership skill”
Gail Reichert
Carl Rogers is a good example of a
people - centered leader, a firm
believer on empowerment:
When he was asked, "What is a good leader?"
Carl would pull a crumpled piece of paper out
of his wallet and read aloud what Lao Tzu had
written:
“When his task is accomplished and
things have been completed, all the people
say, we ourselves have achieved it!”
In my early professional years I was asking the
question: How can I treat, or cure, or change
this person? Now I would phrase the question in
this way:
How can I provide a relationship which this
person may use for his own personal growth?
Carl Rogers
When I look at the world
I'm pessimistic, but when
I look at people
I am optimistic.
Carl Rogers
“The only person who is educated
is the one who has learned how to
learn and change”.
Carl Rogers
“Classic economic theory, based as it is on
an inadequate theory of human motivation,
could be revolutionized by accepting the
reality of higher human needs, including the
impulse to self actualization and the love for
the highest values.”
Abraham Maslow
"Of all the tools available to us in dealing
with conflict, none is more important than
attentive, intentional listening.
Listening helps reduce resistance and opens
our thinking to creative solutions.
Listening not only clarifies the message but
changes both the messenger and the listener.
Listening makes it possible for both sides to
have a change of heart."
Brian Muldon
“Man's inability to
communicate is a result of
his failure to listen
effectively.”
Carl Rogers
It is better to lead from behind and
to put others in front, especially
when you celebrate victory when
nice things occur. You take the
front line when there is danger.
Then people will appreciate your
leadership.
Nelson Mandela
“Courageous people
do not fear forgiving,
for the sake of peace”
Nelson Mandela
“ When a person realizes he has
been deeply heard, his eyes moisten.
I think in some real sense he is
weeping for joy. It is as though he
were saying, "Thank God, somebody
heard me. Someone knows what it's
like to be me.”
Carl Rogers
"When I ask you to listen and you start giving advice,
you have not done what I have asked.
When I ask you to listen and you start telling me why I
shouldn't feel the way I do, you are invalidating my
feelings.
When I ask you to listen and you start trying to solve
my problems, I feel underestimated and disempowered.
When I ask you to listen and you start telling me what I
need to do, I feel offended, pressured and controlled.
When I ask you to listen, it does not mean I am
helpless.
When I ask you to listen and you do things that I can
and need to do for myself, you hurt my self-esteem.
But when you accept the way I feel, then I don't need to
spend time and energy trying to defend myself or
convince you, and I can focus on figuring out why I feel
the way I feel and what to do about it.
And when I do that, I don't need advice, just support,
trust and encouragement.
Please remember that what you think are irrational
feelings always makes sense if you take the time to
listen and understand me."
Mark Brady
"Of
all the skills of leadership, listening is the
most valuable and one of the least understood.
Most captains of industry listen only sometimes,
and they remain ordinary leaders.
But a few, the great ones, never stop listening.
That's how they get word before anyone else of
unseen problems and opportunities."
Peter Nulty - National Business Hall of Fame Fortune Magazine
“Big egos have little ears.”
Robert Schuller
"The ear of the leader must ring
with the voices of the people."
Woodrow Wilson
“Courage is what it takes to stand
up and speak; courage is also what
it takes to sit down and listen.”
Winston Churchill
Participative vs. Autocratic Leadership
A growing body of research shows that companies with a
participative management style are more financially successful
than those with autocratic styles. More and better ideas, free
flow of information, improved decisions, higher productivity,
higher morale, less absenteeism, lower turnover - all have a
positive impact on the bottom line.
A 10-year study of 30 companies published in 1996
demonstrated that “organizations that consistently practice
good people management create an environment that reduces-even eliminates--significant workplace stressors--have higher
sales, profit, growth and margins
(Kravetz, 1996)
Leadership is a set of functions that are the property of the group
and should be “distributed” to group members.
The most effective leader is one who creates the conditions by
which s/he will give up the traditional leadership role and
become more of a group member. Consequently, group members
will then carry out some of the functions of the leader.
Group problems require “participative group problem-solving.”
Leaders create the conditions in which all the group members
feel safe to communicate their ideas and feelings.
Group-centered leaders set a model of empathic listening ,
Group-centered leaders convey “acceptance of the members’
communication.”
Thomas Gordon
Emotional Intelligence
is the ability of people to recognize emotions both in
themselves and in others; to understand and communicate
about their emotions; hear and understand others’ feelings;
and build and maintain satisfying relationships with others.
Research has shown that EQ is more important than IQ in
determining one’s success in life, both as individuals and in
relationships with others.
Social Intelligence (SI) is the ability to get along well with
others, and to get them to cooperate with you. SI informally
referred as "people skills," includes an awareness of situations
and the social dynamics that govern them, and a knowledge of
interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve
his or her objectives in dealing with others. It also involves a
certain amount of self-insight and a consciousness of one's own
perceptions and reaction patterns.
From the standpoint of interpersonal skills, Karl Albrecht
classifies behavior toward others as falling somewhere on a
spectrum between "toxic" effect and "nourishing" effect. Toxic
behavior makes people feel devalued, angry, frustrated, guilty or
otherwise inadequate. Nourishing behavior makes people feel
valued, respected, affirmed, encouraged or competent.
Characteristics of the Most Effective Leaders
They decrease the power differential between self and team members
They create conditions for distributing the leadership function throughout
the group
They show respect for the intrinsic worth of team members
They show respect for team members as individuals who are different from
the leader
They deeply feel that people aren’t there to be used, directed, or influenced
to accomplish only the leader’s aims
They listen with empathy
They demonstrate acceptance
They express their own beliefs, needs and ideas honestly, clearly, and
without blame
They work to resolve conflicts in a win-win way that creates mutual need
satisfaction
“Do I really trust the capacity of the team and of the individuals
on it to solve the problems facing us? Or do I basically trust only
myself?”
“Do I create a climate in which my team can have creative
discussions by being willing to hear, understand, accept and
respect all input? Or do I find myself trying to influence the
outcome of discussions?”
“Do I honestly express my own beliefs and ideas without trying
to control those of others?”
“When there are problems and conflicts, do I make it possible
for them to be brought out into the open, or do I subtly
communicate that they should be kept hidden?”
Skills to meet group members’ needs
1. Behavior that increases group members’ self-esteem and
personal worth.
2. Behavior that increases group cohesiveness and team spirit.
Skills to meet organizational needs
1. Behavior that motivates productivity and the achievement of
group goals.
2. Behavior that helps members reach goals: planning,
scheduling, coordinating, problem-solving, providing resources.
Skills to resolve conflicts
1.The effective leader must learn skills to resolve the inevitable
conflicts that arise among his team members
Promoting processes that
protect and foster the
development of fully
functioning persons,
families, groups,
organizations and
communities and that
foster the
development of
effective,
compassionate and
people centered
leaders is not only of
vital importance for
human survival and
welfare but also for the
welfare of the entire
planet.
Humanistic Psychology instead of focusing only on
pathology has studied people that are particularly healthy
and fully functioning, investigating the common
denominators of those people
Humanistic Psychology instead of focalizing only on pathology has studied people that
are particularlHumanistic Psychology instead of focalizing only on pathology has
studied people that are particularly healthy and fully functioning, investigating the
common denominators of those people
Kurt Goldstein described selfactualization as the tendency
to actualize, as much as
possible, the organism's
individual capacities in the
world.
The tendency toward selfactualization is the only drive
by which the life of an
organism is determined.
Abraham Maslow based his theory
on his case studies of historical
figures whom he saw as examples
of self-actualized individuals
including Albert Einstein, Ruth
Benedict, Frederick Douglass, Jane
Addams Eleanor Roosevelt, Max
Wertheimer, Henry David
Thoreau….
Maslow examined the lives of each
of these people in order to asses the
common qualities that led each to
become self-actualized.
In general he found that these individuals were,
accepting of themselves and of their life circumstances;
very creative; focused on finding solutions to
cultural problems rather than just to concentrate on
personal problems; open to others' opinions and
ideas; had a strong sense of privacy, autonomy, human
values and appreciation of life; and a few intimate
friendships rather than many superficial ones.
They also all reported the frequent occurrence of peak
experiences . These occasions were marked by
feelings of harmony and deep meaning: feeling at one
with the universe.
For Carl Rogers human
nature has a fundamental
tendency, the actualizing
tendency where selfawareness generates
self-regulation.
The research of Carl Rogers and his group on
the fully functioning person found the
following common denominators:
•Self aware, integrated, in touch, deep, authentic, trusting,
creative, good capacity for affiliation and communication,
balanced and realistic
•Psychological health, maturity, existential depth, effective selfregulation, respect for themselves and others
•Openness to experience (instead of the rigid defense stance
of the person feeling under threat)
•Personality: mature, fluid, absence of rigidity / fundamentalism
•Maximum of adaptability
•Trust in themselves, their organism, intuitions, feelings and
values
•Sense of direction, purpose, leadership qualities
The process of the fully functioning
person is seen by Rogers as a challenge:
“This process is not, I am convinced, a life
for the faint-hearted.
It involves the stretching and growing of
becoming more and more of one's
potentialities.
It involves the courage to be.”
(Carl Rogers 1961)
Carl Rogers’ research over the last 70 years
has identified specific qualities in relationships
which promote the development of fully
functioning people as well as the healing of
partially functioning people:
Respect
Empathic understanding
Authenticity/congruence (deep contact)
People that are related to in this
nourishing way tend to reproduce
these qualities in their
new relationships.
We need more people and especially
more leaders that relate to themselves, to
others and to the planet with more
Respect
Empathy
Authenticity/congruence (deep contact)
By fostering the conditions that protect and promote
individuality, people centered leadership in all the
processes of the construction of reality, identity,
social roles and behaviors.
By relating to others in respectful, emphatic, genuine
and congruent ways in the fields of:
• Parenting
• Schooling
• Workplaces
• Community
• Society
• Culture
We will be part of the
solutions
and not of the problems
afflicting present society
Thank
World Academy of
Art and Science
World
University
Consortium
You!
ISTITUTO DELL'APPROCCIO
CENTRATO SULLA PERSONA
Alberto Zucconi
azucconi@iacp.it
azucconi@worldacademy.org
World Academy of Art and Science
www.worldacademy.org
World University Consortium (WUC)
www.wunicon.org
Person Centered Approach Institute (IACP)
www.iacp.it
World Academy of
Art and Science
World
University
Consortium
ISTITUTO DELL'APPROCCIO
CENTRATO SULLA PERSONA